This invention relates to food casings and more particularly relates to food casings that are coated with a composition to assist in release of the food casing from contained food product. Many coating compositions are known for affecting the release characteristics of food casings from contained food product such as sausage meat. For example, cationic resins and proteins have been used to increase adhesion during drying of sausage product so that the food casing shrinks with the sausage product yet to provide insufficient adherence to prevent easy removal when the contained sausage product is to be used. Other compositions such as carboxymethyl cellulose have been used to provide easy release for “skinless” sausage product. In such product, meat contained in the food casing is cooked and the casing is removed prior to sale. In the case of fiber reinforced food casing (fibrous casing), an aqueous emulsion of alkylketene dimer (AKD) has been used to provide release characteristics. At least some elevation of temperature and pH have been required to cure a coating containing it. AKD has thus been applied in a bicarbonate/carbonate buffer at ambient temperature and cure is effected during heat drying of the casing. Machine speeds to make food casing have continuously increased to improve efficiency of manufacture, as a result time available for cure of AKD has been reduced. Unfortunately, alkylketene dimer is not stable at temperatures and pH sufficiently elevated to obtain rapid cure and uncured and ineffective release coatings containing AKD have resulted.